It’s refreshing to see that even as we plunge headlong into the Kindle age, the Librarian still remains a vibrant cultural archetype. When all the physical books are gone, so are they, but for now at least, their spirit is alive and well in Rufus Wainwright’s latest video.

For the title song on his impending seventh studio album, Wainwright has recruited his longtime pal, actress Helena Bonham Carter, to play a buttoned-up keeper of books, at war with her own urges. The video, directed by Philip Andelman, follows Bonham Carter’s sensibly dressed lady around as she lip-syncs Wainwright’s ’70s AM radio-sounding anthem and disciplines various library patrons. The twist is that these patrons are all played by Wainwright himself (including one who sports a John Waters-style ‘stache.)

Bonham Carter’s high-strung librarian becomes increasingly agitated as the day wears on, and it’s clear that she’s waiting for… something. It’s probably best not to give away the ending, but it will suffice to say that at one point a mattress is delivered to the library. As they are sometimes.

See a behind the scenes look at the video below, as well as the preview for Bonham Carter’s latest film, the forthcoming Dark Shadows.